Mike Levi, Professor of Criminology at the School of Social Sciences, has been invited to speak at an anti-corruption forum at the Korean Institute of Criminology. The event will be attended by key Korean government officials and representatives from the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the French and US governments, and the World Bank.

Professor Levi's work has contributed invaluable knowledge to this area of research for which he has been recognized with a series of honors. He will speak on the role of the private sector in combatting corruption at the forum on 4 December.

The speech takes place at the first anti-corruption forum organized by the Korean Institute of Criminology (KIC) in the Republic of Korea, which began with encouragement from the Korean Prime Minister. This demonstrates the importance of the forum in the light of public distrust of official corruption symbolised by the tragic loss of lives in the Korean ferry disaster.

Established in 1989, KIC is the only national crime and criminal justice research agency in the Republic of Korea. Since 1999, it has been an entity within the Office of the Prime Minister. The institute conducts investigations and research on numerous areas such as organised crime, corruption and criminal law, publishing more than 50 research reports each year.

Professor Levi noted that apart from the UK and USA, most self-assessments by OECD countries showed unimaginative efforts at public and at private sector engagement in the anti-bribery process. It was important in Korea to increase not just the prosecution profile against individuals as well as companies, but also to improve whistle-blower and public monitoring of corruption, and to use the risks of huge corporate sanctions creatively to push for competitive integrity rather than the corporate 'race to the bottom'.

Professor Levi says "It is a privilege to have been asked to speak at this inaugural anti-corruption forum in Korea. Having the chance to share the results of my research more widely, and at such a high level event, is another stepping stone in the fight against corruption."